The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1887-01-27
STANTON. VIRGINIA. JANUARY 81, 1887.
Public Buildings in Virginia.

The cause of the failure in the House O.
certain bills that have passed the Senat,
making appropriations for public building
in Norfolk, Harrisonburg, and other place
in Virginia is tersely stated in the follow
ing letter of Senator Malone:
WASHINGTON, D., c.. Jan. IA, 1887
DEAR JUDGE: Yours of the 9th instant
was duly received. AT an early day in the
last session Of the present Congress in
troduced bill, No. go, appropriatipe
$40, 600 for the enlargement and compile.
tion of the public building at Harrison.
burg. In my anxiety to secure this needed
appropriation, and for the moment forget
ting that ] had introduced this bill, No.
9l0, subsequently introduced another bill
No. 2058, covering the same object. This
bill, No. 205S, passed the Senate on the
14th day Of May, 1886. and was promptly
sent over to the House of Representatives
in whose committee on public buildings
and grounds it sleeps to this hour, undis-
turbed, so far as | know, by any word or
effort on the part Of any member of Vir-
giuis S delegation to have 1T reported to
the House.
Meanwhile there remained on the calen-
dar of.the Senate the bill had first intro
duced (No. 910), not discovered until
lately. 1t was to disincumber the calen-
dar of this bill--for which there was no
longer any use-tIiat 1 moved some days
siEce. as was my duty as chairman Of the
committee on public buildings and
grounds, that it be indefinitely postponed,
stating at the time the reason for such
motion: 81 bill having already passed the
Senate covering the same OBJECT, " approprl-
ating $4,000 for the enlargement and COM
pletion of the building at Harrisonburg.
Other motions to the like effect were made
at the same time and for the same reason.
In the face of this state Of facts, given
by the record. you tell me that the editor
of some Democratic paper in referring to
the motion to postpone, as with a sigh,
says: And thus the appropriation flor
the Harrisonburg building) has been de-
featedn Truly, this is a very eXtraordi-
nary deduction. a very remarkable state
ment for auy intelligent person to make.
Harrisonburg ought to be fortunate in
being the home of the representative of
the district in which the town is situated.
and it is not for me to know why the bill
which passed the Senate on the 14th Of
May, 1886, has been permitted to linger
In the public buildings committee of the
House-why it has not been reported to
the House long since and passed. 1t can
not reasonably be supposed that the repre-
sentative Of the Harrisonburg district is
without concern for bill which would not
only carry $40, 900 to be, in some measure,
distributed inshis own district and at his
own home, but supply the money needed
for the necessary enlargement and compile
ton of the building upon scale which
the business Of the courts and the postoffice
it is intended to accommodate are known
to require. While l confess disappoint
ment at the apparent neglect which has
been the fate Of this bill in the House of
Representatives-You may not know that
three other important bills appropriating
$315, 900 for public buildings in Virginia,
which passed the Senate on the 14th day
of February, 1886, sleep On the House
calendar, and thus in the language of your
Democratic newspapers, "the appropria.
ton for them is defeated thus the $315-
900 which the passage Of these three bills
would expend in Virginia, and the impor-
tant objects of public interests which
likely to be lost, possibly because the time
and attention of the representatives are
occupied with larger affairs of State
These bills provide No. 479 for the con-
struction of postofice building at Fort
Monroe, $4,000; No. 482 for a courthouse
and postoffice building at Norfolk, $3.50 900.
and No. $50 for the enlargement of the
public building at Petersburg, $50, 000.-
These three bills fingered long in the
House committee, and until, at my per-
sonal solicitation, certain members of the
House from other states kindly interceded,
and by their influence they were reported
to the House and it would seem that the
hope for the passage of any one of them
must rest upon the kindly offices of mem
bers from other states.
With all the influence that that portion
Of the Virginia delegation which is of the
majority side of the committee of the
House and of the body, it does seem
strange that Virginia should be denied
every measure of that consideration in re-
spect to such non political matters as
has been and is accorded to other states.
Meanwhile the record shows that twenty
six or more bills on account of public
buildings for other states have passed the
House, and among them, to the credit of
the eleven members from the great state
of Texas, five bills for that state covering
S675, 900.
Yours truly,
MALONE
TTl>r Nirri,lia